The unquestioned low point of Tennessee’s 41-20 win over South Carolina on Saturday night occurred at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter, when Volunteers fifth-year senior receiver Bru McCoy suffered a gruesome lower-body injury during a 17-yard catch.
“I hate what happened to Bru,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “We’ll have more of an update tomorrow or on Monday, but everybody saw it was a lower-body injury that didn’t look good. There is nobody better than him.
He’s a great teammate and a great leader. He’s as tough as they come and works extremely hard to be his best, and I just hate it for him.”
McCoy, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound former five-star signee who began his career at Southern California, had two catches for 22 yards against the Gamecocks. Since his Tennessee career began last season, he has compiled 69 catches for 885 yards and five touchdowns.
His injury was not replayed on Tennessee’s video board.
“I truly did not want to go back out there anymore, just because I know how hard he works,” Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III said. “I’m at a loss for words, pretty much.”
The Vols were leading 17-10 when McCoy went down and wound up punting on their next two possessions, but they would regroup offensively and finish the evening with a robust 477 yards — 239 through the air and 238 on the ground.
“That’s a tough moment when you know one of your brothers has had a tough injury and having to get carted off like that,” Heupel said. “Being able to get control of your emotions at the back end of it and being able to reset — Bru said he wanted those guys to play their you know what off, so I relayed that message, but it does show a maturity.”
Heupel was asked who will be counted on in McCoy’s absence.
“Kaleb Webb is going to have to play at a high level,” he said. “We’ve got to get Chas Nimrod going, too, and Nathan Leacock. We’ve got a bunch of guys who have to fill the roles, and that’s the nature of this game.
“It inevitably happens. It’s next man up, and they’ve got to be ready for their opportunity.”
